1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to a communication system and, more particularly, to a system and method for routing traffic in a communication system having a microwave link.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wireless communication systems have become commonplace. A conventional wireless communication system comprises a number of distributed access points, such as base stations. Subscribers communicate bi-directionally with the base stations. The data at the distributed access points must be delivered to a centralized point-of-presence, such as a mobile switching center (MSC). The communication links between the distributed access points (e.g., the base stations) and the centralized access point (e.g., the MSC) is referred to as a backhaul.
The backhaul communication pathway may be implemented using a variety of known technologies. For example, the base station may be coupled to the MSC using a wire or optical fiber. Microwave communication links are also used to implement the backhaul. Many communication systems will provide multiple different communication pathways to implement the backhaul. For example, a base station may be coupled to the MSC using a microwave link and a copper wire.
An advantage of a microwave backhaul link is that it does not require a physical connection between the base station and the MSC. Furthermore, microwave communication links are well-known and readily available in the commercial marketplace. A disadvantage of a microwave link is that it is susceptible to the effects of adverse weather. For example, the water droplets in rain cause a significant adverse impact on the microwave link. Thus, bad weather essentially reduces the available data bandwidth on a microwave link.
In a system with multiple backhaul links, a data switch couples the distributed access point (e.g., the base station) with the MSC. Such data switches are commercially available and include queuing algorithms to maintain priority in communications across the backhaul link.
Unfortunately, the conventional data switch has no information regarding the available data bandwidth in a microwave link nor does the switch have any information regarding the quality of the microwave link. When adverse weather decreases the available data bandwidth in the microwave link or adversely affects the quality of the microwave link, the switch detects problems in a communication link, such as a detection of transmission errors and the requirement for retransmission of data, and simply shuts down the microwave link and transfers all traffic to a secondary backhaul link regardless of bandwidth availability on the microwave backhaul link. Therefore, it can be appreciated that there is a significant need for a system and method that maintains operation of a microwave link even in the face of adverse weather. The present disclosure provides this, and other advantages, as will be apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying figures.